make news in america this morning. spy plane down. >> iran claims they have taken out a top secret unmanned u.s. drone. what sensitive information could they now control? then iowa intrigue. who will scoop up herman cain's repo supporters. and peeking out. the man at the center of the penn state sex abuse scandal opens up. what jerry sandusky is saying now about the charges against him. and good morning, everyone, i'm dan kloeffler sitting in for rob nelson.

>> and i'm sunny hostin. we begin with morning with a possible threat to u.s. security. iran says they have shot down a u.s. drone. the cutting edge technology may have fall on the america's enemies. abc's tahman bradley joins us from washington. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning, dan and sunny. the aircraft was reportedly used to spy on osama bin laden's compound in pakistan. now iran says it's recovered the aircraft. the claim was made on iranian state television that they shot down and captured an unmanned u.s. spy plane. they say it was the rq-170. a secret groan that can presumably go without detection. it could be a significant capture, if true.

>> important secrets can be lost by looking at the kind of material on the skin or looking at the kinds of shapes employed. >> reporter: the u.s. military acknowledges that a reconnaissance plane crashed. official says it was not shot down. a senior u.s. military official says that the military is "assuming iran has something." there are provisions built into drones. if this is a stealth drone, it could help the iranians better understand the vulnerabilities of the u.s. >> it would have been poor planning to use the top technology on a platform they knew might go down. >> reporter: pakistan reportedly let china look at a crashed shelt helicopter used in the raid that killed osama bin laden. the iranian television has not

released pictures of the aircraft. >> abc's tahman bradley. thank you this morning. more than 2,000 protesters have been arrested in washington, d.c. demonstrators refused to demolish that wooden structure. there was a tense hours long standoff between police and democraten traitors. it finally ended with more arrests. the president has no public events on his schedule today. instead, meeting behind closed doors with top advisers. later in the week, he's expected to put more pressure on law maik toers pass an extension of the payroll tax cut. if it doesn't pass, taxes will go up for over 160 million americans. newt gingrich is meeting up

with trump this morning in new york. >> he tells this morning's "usa today" he hasn't ruled out a run himself. withmore, here's chuck sievertson. >> a lot of cain supporters have been calling our office. >> reporter: newt gingrich is still the man to beat. the latest des moines register poll shows him with 25% support followed by ron paul and mitt romney. a sizable amount of undecided voters. >> we're hearing that still 60% to 70% of the people in iowa are undecided. >> reporter: so still, nothing is decided. >> we have had the flavors of the month up and down so far in this campaign. >> i was supposedly dead in july. i apparently am not dead.

so i'm not going to say that any of my friends can't suddenly surprise us. >> reporter: meantime, they continue the slug it out. >> this 2012 election is going to present a choice to people about what kind of america we're going have. >> it's been a wild and woolly ride. i expect that to stay the same. >> reporter: chuck sivertsen, abc news. >> it's getting exciting. >> mitt romney's campaign announced last week, they're rolling out "the right answer." the advertising campaign he plans for iowa. >> "is the america we love a thing of the past?" is the ad that newt gingrich will air today. >> we'll be watching. saturday night's rep debate from iowa will air right here on

abc news. diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos moderate. voters in russia have delivered strongman vladimir putin a setback there. the united russia party will hold a slim majority. the vote went to the communist party, who looks to get to% of the seats. put season still looking to win back the president's seat. the powerful santa ana winds picked up steam today. utility crews scrambled over the week end to restore power. winds as high as 150 miles an hour toppled trees, overturned trucks, and damaged cars and homes. rough weather in california. >> those folks need break out there. we hope they get it in the next couple of days.

flood advisories in nearly a dozen states. heavy rain in little rock, shreveport, memphis, louisville, cincinnati. that will spread to the northeast. thunderstormses from houston to new orleans and montgomery. a foot and half of snow across new mexico and several inches in west texas. >> a snowy 21 in albuquerque. just 14 in fargo. 21 in minneapolis. 34 in kansas city. a mild 61 here in new york. and 52347 boston. >> a balmy 61 for the beginning of december. >> not bad for december. some of the biggest names show business deseended on washington, d.c. for the kennedy center honors. >> meryl streep and barbara cook

were just two of the winners. caroline kennedy was serenaded by smoky robinson. >> she's probably had a lot of people sing that over the years. >> she's enjoying it i think. >> makes you wonder. how many times has she had that has sung to her? >> so many. >> not with a crowd like that. coming up, jerry sandusky speaks out about the sexual abuse allegations leveled against him. also major changes coming to the u.s. postal sefrss. what it means for your mail delivery. and how this car crashed through a san diego restaurant leaving customers

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it's going to take longer for your cards and letters to arrive. facing bankruptcy, the u.s. postal service planning cuts that will virtually eliminate the chances of overnight delivery for regular mail. more than 100,000 postal jobs could be cut. italian prime minister mario monti outlining the government. it includes taxes on luxury cars and boats. the yale-educated economist says he won't take a salary as prime minister or finance minister. hopes that there will be a break through this week toon

european debt crisis. hong kong's hang seng rose 139. in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow gained 788 points. the nasdaq was up 185. it's been a week since cyber monday. we're still buying online. shoppers spent nearly $6 billion online last week. that's a record. free shipping was the big draw, aploying to almost 2 of 3 sales. many customers are now almost expecting it. the sun never sets on the "twilight" saga. "breaking dawn" notched its third straight top finish. it took in $17 million. "the muppets" was second. and "hugo" made nearly $8 million as it expands. >> you contributed to qult the

breaking dawn" right? >> i did. when we come back, tiger woods does something on the golf course that he hasn't done in more than two years. and got insurance? what the most expensive car crash in the world looks like. coming up next. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis.

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i sell wicked good slippers. and the holidays are made here. at l.l.bean. is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. a san diego restaurant in for a huge repair job after a car smashed right through the front door. look at this. the car sent that customer who was walking flying several feet, plowed into two other people. amazingly, they all walked away with minor injuries. the driver said she accidentally hit the gas not the brake. now for a look at morning road conditions. windy on i-5 and 10 in southern

california. i-20 in texas. rain drenches i-po from dallas to little rock. also wet on i-40, 64, and 70 in tennessee, kentucky, and ohio. >> if you're taking to the skies, airport delays possible in dallas, houston, memphis, los angeles, new orleans, denver. >> jerry stan dusky is speaking out again about the serious sex charges he now faces. >> he's answering questions, oddly again, about whether he's attracted to children. here's t.j. winning. >> reporter: in this no holds barred interview with "the new york times" he maintains he's innocent of molesting eight boys for 15 years. >> i didn't do those things. >> reporter: so why is the former penn state assistant football coach having such a difficult time tackling the one question everyone wants answered? >> are you sexually attracted to

young boys, underaged boys? >> am i sexually attracted to underage boys? >> yes. >> sexually attracted? >> no. i enjoy young people. >> reporter: for the alleged victims, and their families, it was a cringe-worthy moment. >> i asked him how he felt about the answer. he said he wished he had done it differently. >> reporter: just like the first time around, he seemed incapable of answering directly. >> i was thinking, what in the world is this question? what is it? am i going to be -- if i say, no, i'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth because -- i'm attracted to young people. boys, girls. >> reporter: his attorney, joseph amendola had to rush to his clients defense.

>> not sexually. >> that's what i was trying to say. i enjoy spending time with young people. >> that's a question that's ready to be hit out of the ballpark. are you sexually attracted to young boys? the sans no. >> reporter: why is he doing these interviews? to make his case and avoid taking the stand in his trial is one theory. the investors that picked up a megalottery ticket last week are making good. they're giving $1 million to five groups that help veterans and service members. the foundation started by our own bob woodr urvegs ff is getting some of the money. tiger woods is back on top. he clinched the chevron world challenge in california. he birdied to win by just one shot. the to 07 masters champion.

it was his first victory since the sex scandal two years ago. oklahoma state university officials say two people remain hospitalized in guarded but stable condition because of that. saturday's post game riot. thousands of fans stormed the field. ripping down the goal posts. 12 people were injured. six of them hospitalize and released. here's the highlights from week 13 of the nfl. >> good morning, i'm jorge an andres. the packers looking for perfection. manning. hakeem nicks with the score. a two-point conversion. it's tied at 35-35 last chance drive for the packers. rodgers to jordy nelson for the

27-yard completion. the drive is still alive. three seconds left in the game. mason crosby with the 31-yard field goal. the packers go on to win this one 38-35. tim tebow and the broncos taking on the vikings. broncos trail, 22-14. looking. looking. scrambling some more. and there he is. finds thomas, who muscles his way all the way in for the score. and the broncos are down now just 22-21. 1:30 left to play. the game is tied. 32-32. christian ponder. andre goodman. he runs it. gives great field position for the broncos. encueing br inin ining -- ensui

drive. matt prater with a field goal. the broncos win it. for more, tune in to espn news. now to japan and what may be the most expensive car crash ever. >> insurance company is cringing over this one. it was more than a dozen luxury cars that traveled in a convoy. a lamborghini, eight ferraris. no one was injured. >> some cars were a total loss. damages are expected to hit nearly $4 million. >> oh. i hate when rich pop lose money. painful to watch. up next, "the pulse." why a woman who was sexually assaulted by her husband now has to pay him alimony. and a new study that says teen sexting is not as popular

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now it's time to check "the pulse." stories you'll be talking about today. get this one. a california judge has ruled that a woman who was sexually abused by her husband has to pay him alimony when he gets out of jail. >> the judge ordered her to pay $in the 1,000 a month and $47,000 for his legal bills. because the husband is serving time for raping her, the payments won't start until 2014 when he gets out of prison. >> usually, the defendant has to pay the restitution to the victim. there must be something more to the system. >> to simply say it is because

she's the breadwinner is not a good argument to me. it looks like teen sexting is not as rampant as people thought. >> only 2 1/2 kids surveyed said they sent racy images. >> previous reports said 20% of teens participated in sexting. >> are they being truthful? >> it could be a bragging thing. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be right back. hello? pretty sure? consider this yor wake-up call. everybody has a price guarantee. but only sears guarantees the best price on all top 10 brands, because only sears carries them all. with experts who know them all. it's called the top 10 advantage. boom! what was that? me dropping some knowledge on you.

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i was singing along. >> a good tune to start the monday morning on. finally, some christmas elves busy in reno last week. >> reporter: the dad, terry, couldn't believe his eyes when he saw five of santa's helpers decorating the outside. >> i was just thinking the other day that i need to get into the garage and find where the stuff is because he's coming back next week. i walk in and see this. i have never seen fig like this. where people come in and do something like this for somebody in the military. it's something to behold. >> reporter: he's been living with his daughter and two kids since her husband, josh, was deployed about two months ago. christmas decorations were josh's things. >> she was nominated by a bunch of her friends. >> reporter: her friends nominated her to a decorate

contest. she was chose on the have her home decorating at no charge. >> the deciding factor was the quantity of nominations, the support in the community. the other part was her story is wonderful. >> reporter: the same friends have kept her away from house most of the afternoon. she has no idea what is going on. it took about 2 1/2 man hours to make everything just right. how does dad think his daughter will react? >> i think there will be tears flowing. and she's got a big heart. and you know, the two kids, especially, with their dad here. this is a christmas they'll remember. >> i think so. >> beautiful. the holiday spirit. >> that's what's making news in america this morning. stay with us for "good morning america."